Prototype Phase in Design Thinking: 7 Reasons and 4 Mindsets

Prototype is Imperfection

Imperfection is so so tough 😓😓

It is unfinished.

It is incomplete.

It is raw and possibly not pleasant.

Salvador Dali drops truth bombs: "Have no fear of perfection - you will never reach it."  Dive into this wisdom as we navigate this Design Thinking, especially during the Prototype Phase- in 3 theories 💡

1️⃣ Imperfection Ignites Innovation

Instead of fearing flaws, imperfection serve us as a catalyst for creativity and innovation, with speed and agility- ignoring distractions.

2️⃣ Journey Over Destination

Design mastery isn't about a perfectionism. There’s no endpoint. It's the dynamic journey, the evolution of ideas, and the joy in continuous improvement.

3️⃣ Adapt And Grow

Every stroke, prototype, and iteration is a learning opportunity. We get to embrace imperfections- for they fuel progress and lead to breakthroughs- knowing we will never be perfect.

Why Do I Write About Prototype Phase?

Prototype Phase is the most controversial step in Design Thinking. Here’s why 👇

You see for other Design Thinking phases:

People like EMPATHY and want to think users first.

People have problems and like to DEFINE further.

People crave ideas and desire tips to IDEATE.

However, for Prototype Phase- it gets a little bit by the way kind of process. There isn’t a celebration of the cause. Or in-depth discussion of what it takes. Nobody said Prototype Phase is greatest learning experience ever. 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️

In my days before Design Thinking became a thing- in mainstream education and business world, Prototype Phase as a concept is very frowned upon or even disliked.

🌎 The world demands perfection but Prototype embrace imperfection.

🌎 The world expects no failure but Prototype is the conduit to extract failure.

🌎 The world ignores alignment working on final outcome but Prototype promotes collaboration.

🌎 The world likes shiny, clean and expensive solution but Prototype remains cheap and dirty.

🌎 The world wants instant but Prototype takes time to experiment and test.

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Here's 7 Reasons Why Prototype Is Important

Prototype Phase is an essential phase in the Design Thinking process, allowing designers to discover unknowns and refine their ideas through testing and iteration. Even the most detailed write-up or productive brainstorming session will inevitably miss certain aspects of a solution. Prototype allows these things to flag out. ⛳️⛳️⛳️

Here are 7 reasons why we prototype:

1️⃣ Find design issues early

2️⃣ Good presentational tool

3️⃣ Iterate more quickly on a design concept

4️⃣ Gather design feedback better

5️⃣ Encourage collaboration

6️⃣ Compare design variations quickly

7️⃣ Cheap, fast and easy

Here's 4 Mindsets to Take Note during Prototype Phase

You may need to understand that there are 4 mindsets that will help you decide how each prototype will support you and the effect of each outcome.

🙇🏻 Embrace Imperfection

Visualise ideas as quickly and imperfect as possible to get high-level feedback.

Will you be doing something cheap, fast and easy?

Are you looking at high-level journey flows?

Are you looking at conceptual level ideas?

🙇🏻 Conduit To Extract Feedback (Stakeholder)

Make a prototype to show and extract feedback from stakeholder- based on their internal objectives, expertise and processes.

Are you aligning with stakeholders on objectives?

Are you understanding knowledge and expertise from stakeholders?

Are you getting thoughts from your boss?

🙇🏻♂️ Improve Collaboration and Align

Create a process of prototyping that includes iteration, collaborative work discussion and overall contribution as a team.

Are you involving stakeholders in building a prototype?

Are you iterating and getting alignment while making?

Are the stakeholders or your team hands-on or backseat driving?

🙇🏻♂️ Experiment and Test (Customers)

Make a prototype to experiment and test with customers to develop empathy and understanding of their needs.

Are you involving customers to learn and test?

Are the customers giving good insights based on your prototype?

Last Words

I will be adding more articles on Design Thinking throughout the year. Articles of Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test will be added periodically to give my readers a broader insights to Design Thinking.

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About the Author

Daniel Ling is a regional Design Leader, and certified Design and Agile Coach with 15 years of experience in the financial and e-commerce tech space- who moulded himself to be a “designer in a business suit”- strong in the Design Thinking process and yet relevant to the industry. He is proficient in the digital and transformational space- in the area of design leadership and management, research, strategy planning and coaching.

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